The BCCI released the squads for India’s forthcoming white-ball series of Sri Lanka on Thursday, July 18. While Suryakumar Yadav will be leading the Men in Blue in T20I cricket, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be playing in the ODIs.
India will play the same number of ODIs and three T20Is in the island nation. The campaign will begin on July 27 in Pallekele with the first Twenty20 International. Eagerly awaiting the announcement of the squads were the fans. The inclusion of seasoned players Rohit and Kohli in the ODI team was one of the main talking topics. Initially, it was reported that they would not be participating in the trip; however, supporters can now all exhale with relief, as the two legends will be playing for the first time since India’s victorious T20 World Cup 2024 campaign. Rohit will undoubtedly be in control of the ODI team.
Hardik Pandya has been surpassed by Suryakumar Yadav to become the T20I team’s captain. The presence of the Baroda all-rounder on the 15-man roster, however, indicates that Suryakumar has replaced Rohit as India’s full-time T20I captain.
The selection of Shubman Gill as vice captain for both formats is another intriguing aspect of the squads. In a five-match T20I series against Sikandar Raza and Co., Shubman led India to a 4-1 victory during their most recent trip of Zimbabwe. It appears that his leadership performances have pleased the management and selectors. Hardik, who served as India’s deputy captain at the T20 World Cup last month, is replaced by him. Many people had KL Rahul pegged as Rohit’s ODI deputy, but the Punjab batsman won the race.
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In the meantime, Harshit Rana and Riyan Parag—who debuted for his country earlier this month against Zimbabwe—have made their ODI squad debuts. In the T20I format, Sanju Samson has been kept in reserve, while Shivam Dube has been selected for both sides. Unexpectedly, though, Ruturaj Gaikwad has been left off of the T20I team despite turning in a few strong performances in Zimbabwe.
India’s squad for T20Is: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj.
India’s squad for ODIs: Rohit Sharma (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana